Support for an article of furniture



June 18, 1957 F. S, KNOLL SUPPORT FOR AN ARTICLE OF FURNITURE Filed Aug. 20. 1954 INVENTOR. FLORENCE S- KNOLL ATTORNEY.

A 2,796,307 a Patented June 18, 1957 SUPPORT EOR AN ARTICLE OF Florence S. Knoll, New York, N. Y., assignor to Knoll Associates Inc., New York, N. Y.

This invention refers to' articles. of furniture and more particularly to a support or frame for use in articles of furniture.

An object of the invention is to provide a support or frame of sturdy construction.

Another object of the invention is to provide a support or frame, which can be readily manufactured.

A further object of the invention is to provide a support or frame, which can be readily joined with other parts of an article of furniture.

Another object of the invention is to provide a support or frame consisting of several parts which may be readily assembled.

Other objects and structural details of the invention will be apparent from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a support or frame made according to the invention, and i Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 22 of Fig. 1.

Referring now to Fig. 1, generally indicates the support of a table. each generally indicated by 12.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, each leg 12 comprises a pair of spaced bars 14, 16. At the lower end of the leg 12, a spacer generally indicated by 18 is inserted into the space between the lower ends of the bars 14 and 16. Said spacer 18 having a cross-section substantially in the shape of an inverted T comprises a flat element 20 and a flat member 22. The fiat element 20 is rigidly connected with the spaced bars 14 and 16 by means of a pair of screws 24. The flat member 22, forming a ground engaging member, is rigidly connected with the flat element 20 by means of another pair of screws 26.

At the upper end of the leg 12 another spacer 28 in the shape of a fiat bar is inserted between the bars 14 and 16. Said bar 28 projecting laterally from the leg 12 is connected with the spaced bars 14 and 16 thereof by means of screws 30.

A flat bar 32, forming a supporting member and extending in the longitudinal direction of the bar 28 is secured to said bar 28 by means of screws 34.

Furthermore, another spacer 36 inserted into the space between the bars 14 and 16 is connected with the latter by means of a screw 38.

As shown in Fig. 1, the spacer 36 is in the shape of a flat bracing member connecting opposite legs 12 of the support with each other.

The cross bar 28a extends from the left-hand front leg of the support to the right-hand rear leg of the latter and connects same with each other as shown in Fig. 1. In a similar manner, the bar 3201 extends from the lefthand front leg to the right-hand rear leg of the support 10.

The bar 32 extending from the left-hand rear leg to the center of the support is welded to the bar 32a at the edge 40. In a similar manner the bar 32b extending from the right-hand front leg of the support towards the center is welded to the bar 32a at the edge 40b. The bar 28 and the bar 28b are held in their position by means of the screws 34 and 34b respectively connecting same with the bars 32 and 32b respectively. If desired, however, said bars 28 and 28b may also be welded to the cross-bar 28a.

A table top (not shown) may be arranged on top of the support and may be connected with the supporting members 32,3241- and 32b in any suitable manner, for example by screws.

The leg structures and the support of the described type may be readily assembled. Preferably, the various bars and spacers are made ofmetal. The various elements are precut and the operator may readily assemble same by screwing-same together in the described manner. The construction of the legs and-of the support is rather sturdy.

The support comprises four legs,

,I have described a preferred embodiment of my invention, but it is understood that this disclosure is for the purpose of illustration and that various omissions or changes in shape, proportion and arrangements of parts, as well as the substitution of equivalent elements for those, herein shown and described may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

For example, the bracing members 36 may be omitted or may be replaced by diiferent bracing members arranged at a different place.

Furthermore, the spacers 18 may be made an integral piece of material. Likewise, a T-iron could be used instead of the bars 28 and 32 screwed together by means of the screws 34.

What I claim is:

l. A support for an article of furniture comprising: at least four legs, each leg including a pair of spaced bars and spacing means arranged between and connected to the spaced bars of each leg, and at least two supporting members, each supporting member connecting two opposite legs, the ends of each supporting member entering the spaces between spaced bars of opposite legs near the top thereof and being connected thereto, each supporting member having a top surface extending in a horizontal plane common to all of said top surfaces, said supporting members intersecting each other in a crossing zone common to all of them.

2. In a support as claimed in claim 1, said spacing means comprising at least a first spacer arranged between and connected to the spaced bars of each leg near the middle thereof, and a second spacer, said second spacer having a first portion being arranged between and connected to said spaced bars and a second portion forming a ground engaging member.

3. In a support as claimed in claim 1, each of said supporting members having a T-shaped cross-section, the ends of the leg of said T being arranged between said spaced bars of opposite legs while the upper surface of the cross-bar of said T forms said top surface.

4. A support for an article of furniture comprising: four legs, each leg including a pair of spaced bars and spacing means arranged between and connected to the spaced bars of each leg, and two supporting members connecting said four legs in X-formation, the ends of each supporting member entering the spaces between spaced bars of opposite legs near the top thereof and being connected thereto, each supporting member having a top surface extending in the same horizontal plane as that of the other top surface.

5. In a support as claimed in claim 4, one of said supporting members having a first portion and a second portion, said first portion having a vertical end surface abutting and being secured to one side face of the other supporting member, said second portion having a vertical end surface abutting and being secured to the opposite side face of the other supporting member.

6. In a support as claimed in claim 4, each of said supporting members having a T-shaped cross-section, the ends of the leg of said T being arranged between said spaced bars of opposite legs while the upper surface of the cross-bar of said T forms said top surface.

7. A support for an article of furniture comprising: four legs, each leg including a pair of spaced bars and at least one spacer arranged between and connected to the spaced bars of each leg near the bottom thereof, a first supporting member connecting two opposite legs, near the top thereof, said first supporting member having a T-shaped cross-section, the ends of the leg of said T being arranged between said spaced bars of said opposite legs, a second supporting member of T-shaped crosssection connecting the other two legs, said second supporting member having 'a first portion and a second portion spaced from said first portion, one end of said first portion being arranged between the space of the spaced bars of one leg near the top thereof while the other end abuts and is connected to one side face of said first supporting member, one end of said second portion being arranged between the space of the spaced bars of the second of said other two legs near the top thereof while the other end abuts and is connected to the opposite side face of said first supporting member, whereby an X-shaped support having a flat top surface is obtained, and two bracing bars, the ends of each bracing bar being arranged in the space between spaced bars of opposite legs, each bracing bar extending in a horizontal plane different from that of the other.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 480,346 Rutter Aug. 9, 1892 608,659 Erwin Aug. 9, 1898 1,538,393 Fowler May 19, 1925 1,588,759 Lewis June 15, 1926 1,645,336 McClothern Oct. 11, 1927 1,678,392 Hursh et al. July 24, 1928 2,235,290 Exline et al. Mar. 18, 1941 2,301,420 Liabastre Nov. 10, 1942 2,543,592 OConnor Feb. 27, 1951 2,591,797 Exline et al. Apr. 8, 1952 

